1,720,965 research outputs found
Wakelyns Agroforestry: Resilience through diversity
Full text linkIntegrating trees for timber, energy and fruit production into an organic crop rotation, Wakelyns (a 22.5-hectare innovative farm) was established by the late plant pathologist Professor Martin Wolfe to put into action his theories of agrobiodiversity being the answer to achieving sustainable and resilient agriculture. The farm has been the focus of research into organic crop production and agroforestry for over 20 years and continues to be a source of inspiration for those practicing or studying agroforestry. Some of the key theories investigated at Wakelyns and the evidence produced by Martin and researchers from the Organic Research Centre are summarised in this publication, which is invaluable to any farmer or land manager with an interest in carrying out agroforestry on their land
Fulfilling 100% organic poultry diets: Concentrates
No full textThe main dietary challenge for poultry producers is ensuring that feed fulfills the nutrient requirements of poultry, in particular with regards to protein and the correct amino acid profile. This is a particular challenge for organic poultry producers as the use of synthetic amino acids is not allowed. There has been a derogation from the EU Organic Regulatory Board to allow organic pig and poultry producers to include up to 5% non-organic feed within their rations to assist in meeting the nutritional requirements of the animals. This derogation was due to finish at the end of December 2014 but has now been extended to 31 December 2017 when it will become compulsory under EU Regulations (EC) no 889/2008 to provide all organic livestock with feed derived from 100% organic origins. This guide analyses the potential of locally produced and novel protein sources as viable, alternative feed sources for the organic poultry industr
Fulfilling 100% organic pig diets: Feeding roughage and foraging from the range
Full text linkThe derogation from the EU Organic Regulatory Board to allow organic pig and poultry producers to include up to 5% non-organic feed within their rations was due to finish at the end of December 2014. This has now been extended to 31 December 2017 when it will become compulsory under EU Regulation (EC) no 889/2008 to provide all organic livestock with feed derived from 100% organic origins. The Regulation also requires pigs on organic farms to have access to materials they can manipulate to satisfy their behavioural need to forage and to displace abnormal aggressive behaviours such as tail biting. This guide discusses the role roughage can play in addressing the nutritional and foraging needs of pigs in organic systems
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Fulfilling 100% organic pig diets: Concentrates
No full textThe main dietary challenge for pig producers is ensuring that feed fulfills the nutrient requirements of pigs, in particular with regards to protein and the correct amino acid profile. This is a particular challenge for organic pig producers as the use of synthetic amino acids is not allowed. There has been a derogation from the EU Organic Regulatory Board to allow organic pig and poultry producers to include up to 5% non-organic feed within their rations to assist in meeting the nutritional requirements of the birds. This derogation was due to finish at the end of December 2014 but has now been extended to 31 December 2017 when it will become compulsory under EU Regulations (EC) no 889/2008 to provide all organic livestock with feed derived from 100% organic origins. This guide discusses the potential of locally-sourced protein sources as viable alternative ingredients in pig concentrate diets
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Fulfilling 100% organic poultry diets: Roughage and foraging from the range
Full text linkThe derogation from the EU Organic Regulatory Board to allow organic pig and poultry producers to include up to 5% non-organic feed within their rations was due to finish at the end of December 2014. This has now been extended to 31 December 2017 when it will become compulsory under EU Regulations (EC) no 889/2008 to provide all organic livestock with feed derived from organic origin. A further requirement of the regulation is that at least 20% of the feed should originate from the farm unit or if this is not possible from the same region. The organic regulations also dictate that roughage, fresh or dried fodder, or silage be added to the daily ration for poultry. In addition, poultry must be given access to pasture to complement their dietary requirements and express natural behaviours. This guide investigates the role that ranging and forage feeding can play in contributing to fulfilling nutritional requirements of poultry
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Conversion to Organic Field Vegetable Production (Phase 2)
No full textIntroduction, aims and objectives
When this project began in 1996 the UK supply of organic vegetables, from 2400 hectares, was insufficient to meet the growing market and the majority of organic vegetables were imported. It was a policy objective to enable UK farmers to meet the demands of this growing market. A farmer converting to organic agriculture is faced with a range of specific agronomic and economic challenges different from those of conventional agriculture and of established organic systems and a lack of knowledge about these challenges was recognised as a major barrier for individual farmers considering conversion. The overall aim of this project was therefore to provide information on the agronomic and economic performance of farming systems which included field vegetables as part of their rotations during the conversion period and in the years immediately afterwards. The project was commissioned in 1996 as Project OF0126T, later continued as OF0191; this report describes the findings from both projects. The projects were led by HDRA with HRI (now Warwick HRI), EFRC (Elm Farm Research Centre), and the Institute of Rural Sciences (University of Wales, Aberystwyth) as subcontractors.
The main objectives were:
1. To convert 12 ha (Hunts Mill) of the farm at HRI Wellesbourne to an organic system, with a rotation including field vegetables and arable crops.
2. To assess agronomic and economic performance of the crops grown, soils, weeds, pest and diseases, during conversion and for the first target rotation at Hunts Mill.
3. To assess the overall agronomic and financial performance during the first full cycle of the rotations at Hunts Mill, comparing scenarios where the initial fertility building phase was 29 months, 17 or 7 months.
4. To assess the agronomic and economic performance during conversion at 10 commercial reference farms, representing contrasting scenarios of organic vegetable production.
5. To interpret and evaluate the data and to produce information appropriate to aid farmers who are undergoing, or who are considering undergoing conversion to organic systems, and to aid future policy making on related farming issues.
The reference farms were selected to represent three different scenarios of conversion (from conventional arable, from conventional intensive vegetable and from conventional mixed farms with livestock). The farms represented a range of sizes and were located in all the principle vegetable growing areas of England. The assessment period covered the two-year conversion period itself plus at least the first three years of certified organic production. The basic experimental approach was to use all the farms as case studies for monitoring and documenting the performance of the systems undergoing conversion. Comparisons were made between Hunts Mill and the reference farms and also between the reference farms representing the same vegetable production scenario and between the three different scenarios.
See main document for a summary of findings.
More specific key agronomic and economic findings can also be found in the main report.
Conclusions
The project has demonstrated that the process of conversion from conventional agriculture to organic vegetables production is often quite complex involving a significant number of innovations and restructuring of the farm systems, including changes in production, the introduction of new enterprises and marketing methods. These have resulted in a number of physical, financial and management changes both during the transition process and on the final organic farm businesses. The project has demonstrated that large-scale organic vegetable production is technically feasible, with soil fertility, weeds and pest and disease problems overcome without too much difficulty. The biggest challenges have been marketing, managing labour and making it financially viable at the farm level. Organic Farming Scheme payments have only made small contributions to the ‘cost of conversion’. Conversions, especially on the larger farms, would seem to be preferable over a 5 to 10 year period, allowing time to make the necessary learning and adjustments.
Further research
Monitoring at Hunts Mill has been extended until 2006 as part of a new project: Organic field vegetable production – baseline monitoring of systems with different fertility building strategies (OF 0332). Monitoring of some of the reference farms has continued as part of the project The Sustainable Vegetable Systems Network (OF 0340). This project monitors agronomy and economics and aims to assist in the development of established organic vegetable systems. Economic conditions change and the impact of the new CAP reforms beginning in 2005 would merit further research. The models developed within this project could form the basis for this work
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